


The Station Agent

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-09 05:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1142314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That didn’t mean the promises would be kept.  Broken promises littered the road they walked down like shards of glass.  This time he meant it more than he ever had anything in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Station Agent

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is entirely inspired by Sting’s cover of Elton John’s Come Down in Time. It’s also inspired by my immense love for my OTP and so many spaces in their story between Rossi leaving and him coming back a decade later. This is dedicated to Danielle, who gave me my song back, and my favorite ship for just a little while.

**September 15, 1997**

_In the quiet silent seconds I turned off the light switch  
And I came down to meet you in the half-light the moon left  
While a cluster of night jars sang some songs out of tune  
A mantle of bright light shone down from a room_

Dave came to the train station early. He would sit on the wooden pews and watch people go by. He’d write things down as they came to him. He would overhear people’s conversations in so many different languages that it made his head spin. He would see lovers, children, families, friends, and enemies while he sat. But he didn’t see her. 

He pulled the cell phone out of his jacket pocket, ridiculous contraption but important at the moment. There were no messages. He’d gone to their phone booth more than once and it hadn’t rang a single time. He wanted to call her but knew it was impossible. That wasn’t what they'd agreed on. 

Maybe they hadn’t agreed on anything. Dave could’ve heard what he wanted to hear. She’d been crying; she nodded and she’d been crying. He was going, he had to go because it was better for the both of them. She didn’t need to be someone she wasn’t because he was there. 

There were other places for him to be and her life was here. It didn’t have to be, she could make another choice. She could go with him. She could run away and never look back. No one was going to love her like he did. That wasn’t an ultimatum, it was a promise. 

They'd made each other miserable so many times. This time they could make each other happy. Why did they keep falling into each other if it wasn’t meant to be? He was taking the train to New Orleans. Dave loved train rides and he wanted her by his side. 

They could watch the world fly by together. These roles they were in weren’t permanent. They were malleable and it was time for a change. He knew it wouldn’t be easy but it was possible. 

Her ticket was in his pocket and so was her note. _You know how I feel, and those feelings will never change. I’ll love you until I cease to breathe_. He would be there and all she had to do was show up. He would wait as long as he could.

_Come down in time I still hear her say  
So clear in my ear like it was today  
Come down in time was the message she gave  
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way_

Looking at his watch, Dave knew the train would be there in about a half hour. He got up, brushing the imaginary dust from his slacks. He took another walk around the entire station, stopping at their phone booth. Someone was in there making a call. What if she was calling at this exact moment? 

What if she was calling to say wait, to say she would be there? What if she was calling and the line rang busy? What if she didn’t call back? Dave knocked on the glass. The person turned and gave him a rude look. He held up his ID…official FBI business. He needed this phone booth as a matter of national security. 

It wasn’t a big lie and he didn’t bat an eyelash telling it. _Go away, go away because I need this line open_. He stepped in as the person stepped out, pulling the door behind him. He didn’t pick up the phone but put his hand on it. Willing it to ring was impossible, Dave didn’t have that kind of power. At the moment he’d probably never felt so powerless. 

She’d been hurt enough, by him more than a few times. Who would want to sign on for more of the same? He’d made promises though; there had been so many promises. Promises to love and change and never do it again. Deep in his heart, Dave meant those things. 

That didn’t mean the promises would be kept. Broken promises littered the road they walked down like shards of glass. This time he meant it more than he ever had anything in his life. _Ring dammit! Ring, I only need you to ring once. I'm here and I'm going to answer_.

_Well I don't know if I should have heard her as yet  
But a true love like hers is a hard love to get  
And I've walked most all the way and I ain't heard her call  
And I'm getting to thinking if she's coming at all_

The PA system announced that the 9:30 to New Orleans would be at the station in approximately fifteen minutes. Boarding would begin in a half hour with sleep car passengers boarding first. Dave picked up the phone, desperate to hear anything but the dial tone. He hung up again, picked up, and then slammed it down. Leaving the booth, he walked back toward where he was sitting. 

Dave stopped in the middle of the floor, causing someone to have to walk around him. Another dirty look came with it but he didn’t care. He pulled the note from his pocket. It had been unfolded and refolded more times than he cared to count. Her penmanship was as easily recognizable as his own. It was as beautiful as the woman herself. 

He could hear her voice as he read the words again. Dave didn’t even notice the concierge as he approached and called his name. He had a message for him. The soon to be retired FBI agent just looked at the young man. He reached for one piece of paper, nearly dropping the other. 

_Come down in time I still hear her say  
So clear in my ear like it was today  
Come down in time was the message she gave  
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way_

Dave fumbled but he grabbed it before it hit the ground. He didn’t want anyone else’s hands on it. Sliding it back into his pocket, he opened the new folded piece in his hand. It was hard, new, untouched by time, but the penmanship was the same. There would never be a day when he didn’t recognize it. 

_I love you. I will always love you and that’s why I can't. You’ll probably hate me but I love you. God knows why it'll never work but I know it won't. Never has something been so right and so wrong in the same breath. We can leave this city behind but the past will always follow us. You promised me this time it would be different and it will be. Always, Erin_. 

He gripped the paper hard, his finger moving across the sharp edge. Hissing, Dave recoiled. He looked down and saw the blood. It stained his finger and the paper. He fought so hard not to ball the paper up. He wanted to rip it to shreds. 

He wanted to set it on fire and watch it burn. Instead he folded it, blood and all, and put it into his pocket. The train would board on the other side of the station and he needed to be on it. He took the ticket he bought for her, placed it on an empty bench, and walked away. There was no need to look back.

_There are women and women and some hold you tight  
While some leave you counting the stars in the night_

***


End file.
